Helpers--Carpenters in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,511
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$8,289
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,517
Arkansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arkansas — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$46,800
Kept after tax
$38,511
Worth in national money
$44,517
State rank
9
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arkansas is one of the better-paying states for helpers--carpenters. The middle earner takes $46,800, which ranks 9 of 47 states with published figures. That is about 6.9% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Arkansas, this sits in the middle: 259 of 489 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $46,800 you keep $38,511, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,517 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $48,940, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arkansas ranks 9 of 47 states publishing a median for helpers--carpenters, at $46,800 — about 6.9% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Helpers--carpenters ranks 259 of 489 occupations in Arkansas by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Arkansas income tax, retained pay for helpers--carpenters on $46,800 is $38,511. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,517 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $48,940 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,670 |
| This salary | $46,800 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arkansas | $38,511 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,784 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,577 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,216 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,326 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of helpers--carpenters in Arkansas earn under $46,800 and half over. The published range runs $33,410 at the tenth percentile to $74,670 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arkansas's $38,511, worked from $46,800. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 259 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,517 uses one figure for the whole of Arkansas. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 259.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--carpenters in Arkansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,410 to $74,670; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Arkansas take-home of $38,511, on $46,800 for work ranking 259 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 259 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,517, worked from $46,800, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Arkansas address, on work sitting at 259 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $48,940 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $33,410, the highest tenth $74,670, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $44,517.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Arkansas's own levy, $38,511 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arkansas is $48,940. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($33,410) and the ninetieth ($74,670) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Arkansas's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $44,517 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,511 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arkansas income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.